Chapter 419: 419. I can predict the future

Translator: 549690339

Three breaths later, Qiu Jing turned his head, a cold, fierce gaze fell on Yan Shijiu’s face.

Yan Shijiu lowered his head, readily admitting he was in collusion with the newcomers, “Sorry, I too, am trying to survive.”

Siqi’s eyes were on alert, “Who are you all?”

“Gu Ling, have you made up your mind?” Completely ignoring Yan Shijiu or Siqi, the man in the straw cloak always kept his eyes on Qiu Jing.

In a swift movement, Qiu Jing drew out his Cold Moon Sword. Yan Shijiu lifted his gaze to see an exquisite sword technique employed at a rapid speed. Without even looking at him, Qiu Jing plunged his sword into Yan Shijiu’s chest!

Although Yan Shijiu was not without strength, he never expected that “Gu Ling” intended to kill him! He watched as Qiu Jing’s sword thrust changed its course abruptly from attacking the man to targeting him instead.

The Cold Moon Sword was already withdrawn, untouched by blood, returning to the scabbard at Qiu Jing’s waist. Yan Shijiu’s face turned deathly pale, clutching his chest, vibrant red blood seeped from the gaps between his fingers. In panic, he fled toward the outside, crying, “Master, save me!”

The next moment, a silvery gleam was released from beneath the straw cloak. Yan Shijiu stumbled to a halt, his eyes growing wide with shock. It was as if time had slowed to a crawl. Above his line of sight, there appeared a curved sliver- a silver coin. Then, like a half arched moon obscured by clouds, the portion of it he could see got smaller and smaller until finally, it completely disappeared… The silver coin entered his forehead, piercing through his brain, and flew out, no longer shining bright. The blood streaks added an unsettling brightness to the pattern on the coin. Speed undiminished, it nailed onto a pillar behind him!

Qiu Jing’s Cold Moon Sword ultimate move and the man’s brain-piercing coin were used in a silent skirmish with Yan Shijiu.

At the very moment Yan Shijiu toppled, exactly ten breaths had passed.

Qiu Jing spoke, “Don’t trouble them, I will go with you.”

“Very good.” The man nodded slightly, rainwater coalesced into thin lines down his straw hat. As he turned, the lines fragmented into dewdrops. “The Cold Moon Sword Technique, truly lives up to its reputation. Let’s go.”

Qiu Jing turned to look at Siqi. “You escort Yan Shiba back to the capital city with Yu Ru. Tell Su Liang that I have gone to Xingluo Island as a guest, there’s no cause for worry.”

“Yes, my prince.” Siqi nodded, removing her grass hat and handed it to Qiu Jing.

Qiu Jing caught it, donned it, and followed that man into the rain.

The troupe of black-clothed individuals followed behind Qiu Jing, closing him in with a tight formation.

After a moment, tranquility returned to the dilapidated temple, while Yan Shijiu’s blood painted a large patch of the ground red.

Yu Ru, the maid, lifted the carriage curtain, her face riddled with anxiety as she watched Siqi approach. “What do we do next?”

“You take her back to find Hu Er,” Siqi commanded once again.

Yu Ru’s eyes widened in shock because this was unmistakably Regent King Gu Ling’s voice!

But before Yu Ru could question further, the figure in front of her had vanished, leaving her momentarily wondering if it had been her imagination. It took her a moment to realize what had happened. Although she was still mystified, Yu Ru carried the body of Yan Shijiu onto the carriage. Then braving the rain, she navigated the carriage away from the dilapidated temple with Yan Shiba, taking a detour back to Bei’an County.

Qiu Jing followed the group in the rain. Instead of heading north, they were moving away from Bei’an County towards the south.

It wasn’t until dusk that the rain stopped. They arrived at a valley where the leader found a dry cave to halt and rest.

Qiu Jing watched as the man threw off his straw cloak outside the cave, revealing a tall and upright figure. But even after removing his straw hat, a mask remained, only his eyes, deep as a dead sea, were visible.

“Are you… Sheng Yue?” Qiu Jing asked. He heard from Min Rou that there was a man called Sheng Yue on Xingluo Island, a martial arts master who was immune to all poison, and a trusted aide of Mo Yan. Aside from Sheng Yue, the others causing trouble on Xingluo Island were all old timers.

“Min Rou told you.” Sheng Yue, by saying this, acknowledged the fact.

“What do you guys want me to do?” Qiu Jing asked. He knew that one of the primary purposes of the people on Xingluo Island all along was to capture Gu Ling.

It was evident that this time, everything about Yan Shiba was arranged by Sheng Yue. Yan Shijiu was a trusted aide of Yan Shiba, known for his close ties with Gu Ling and Su Liang. Hence they used a gravely injured Yan Shiba as a trap. Yan Shiba’s state was authentic, so was her severe illness, and Yan Shijiu missing an arm was also a reality. His story held no flaws. Additionally, the location was Su Village, home to many of Su Liang’s kins and friends. Even if they suspected something was amiss, Su Liang and Gu Ling couldn’t just sit by and do nothing.

Moreover, Sheng Yue would have certainly predicted that Gu Ling would be the one to show up, and he would come alone, without Su Liang. This was because Su Liang and Gu Ling wouldn’t take their daughter, who was less than a year old, on long journeys. Besides, the child couldn’t be without her mother, and Su Liang’s martial arts skills were her weakness.

If Gu Ling hadn’t made use of Hu Er’s acting, leading Yan Shiba away from Su Family Village, it would have been difficult to avoid Bai Xiaohu or Zhuzi being randomly grabbed by Sheng Yue as hostages to achieve the same goal. Choosing Su Family Village itself was a form of invisible threat to Gu Ling and Su Liang.

Qiao Jing was very wary of Sheng Yue, although they had met for the first time that day, and had a brief encounter that couldn’t be counted as a fight, this man gave him a very dangerous feeling. From a strength perspective, Qiao Jing suspected that his martial arts might not be far off from Gu Ling, but while Gu Ling looked cold, he didn’t emit the kind of fear-inspiring chill; this man, however, gave Qiao Jing the feeling that he was capable of anything.

In response to Qiao Jing’s question, Sheng Yue only answered after a pause, “You’ll know when we get there. Stay composed; if you dare to act rashly, innocent people may lose their lives because of you.”

The tone was very calm, but it caused chills. Qiao Jing realized Sheng Yue was not joking, but this man truly disgusted him.

However, for the moment, Qiao Jing was somewhat relieved that he had insisted on disguising himself as Gu Ling then. After all, they were cousins. Their physique and facial features were rather similar, and both were inheritors of the Cold Moon Sword Technique. Their martial arts were enough to confuse the enemy. At the time in the ruined temple, one of Qiao Jing’s aims in killing Yan Shijiu was to show off his Cold Moon Sword Technique.

At least for now, Sheng Yue hadn’t suspected at all that the person he captured was not Gu Ling.

As for the one who was captured, Qiao Jing felt it was quite good. Although when they swapped identities, it was said that if Qiao Jing was captured, Gu Ling could save him. But at this moment, he didn’t expect Gu Ling to come to his rescue immediately. This group of people was difficult to deal with. No matter how powerful Gu Ling was, it would be difficult to deal with them alone. If Sheng Yue wasn’t killed and he escaped, he would likely invite even more trouble.

In fact, Qiao Jing hoped that his act would last longer, preferably only being discovered after Sheng Yue took him back to the Xingluo Island. That way, it would give Gu Ling and Su Liang more time to understand Xingluo Island and deal with its power.

Something was thrown onto Qiao Jing. He caught it and found it was a mask.

“Put it on,” Sheng Yue said.

Qiao Jing silently put it on, thinking it was for the best.

Sheng Yue took away Qiao Jing’s Cold Moon Sword and asked him if Nangong Lin was already dead.

Qiao Jing nodded, “Dead.” He actually wasn’t dead and was still in the dungeon of Su Mansion in the capital city, waiting for his death. But since Sheng Yue asked, Qiao Jing intentionally said the opposite to prevent any plots he might have.

“Take this pill.” Sheng Yue took out a medicine bottle, poured out a pill and handed it to Qiao Jing.

“What is it?” Qiao Jing asked.

Sheng Yue straightforwardly said, “To suppress internal power.”

Qiao Jing frowned, said nothing, and put it in his mouth.

“Why don’t you ask if anyone has gone to the capital city to kill your wife and child?” Sheng Yue asked.

Qiao Jing replied indifferently, “If you want to say it, just say it.”

“No,” Sheng Yue said, “The previous incidents have caused Xingluo Island to lose a lot of masters, otherwise, we wouldn’t need to go to so much trouble.”

It sounded like he was explaining to Qiao Jing.

But Qiao Jing found him incomprehensible. He was sure this man was not an upright person, but it seemed that his interests were different from those of some people on Xingluo Island?

All of Gu Ling’s items on Qiao Jing were taken away by Sheng Yue, including a spear, several medicine bottles, a cute little rabbit purse, a hand string, a ring. There was also a letter from Bai Xiaohu and Zhuzi to Su Liang.

Sheng Yue handed the letter back to Qiao Jing, took the purse, and asked, “Made by Su Liang?”

Qiao Jing did not answer, only asked him to return the hand string.

After examining and finding no hidden weapons, Sheng Yue gave Qiao Jing the hand string, which was just an ordinary fragrant wood hand string with crude carving. He also returned the purse to him, fired a shot at the stone wall of the cave with the spear, then tucked it into his bosom.

Qiao Jing thought… Just wait, sooner or later Gu Ling will kill you with that thing…

After not resting for long, they set off again.

Qiao Jing, who originally intended to leave a message for Gu Ling advising him not to save him for now, couldn’t find the opportunity under Sheng Yue’s watch. But after one night, when Gu Ling did not appear, Qiao Jing was wondering, wasn’t Gu Ling worried that he’d be killed after being exposed? Really…

On the other hand, when Hu Er saw Yu Ru bring back Yan Shiba, as well as Yan Shijiu’s dead body, he wasn’t too surprised. Hu Er knew that the carriage driver Siqi was Gu Ling. Having heard from Yu Ru about what had happened in the ruined temple, Hu Er guessed that Gu Ling had encountered a tough enemy this time.

Hu Er arranged another team of horsemen to escort Yan Shiba to the capital city. Gu Ling left a bottle of medicine, instructing them to give Yan Shiba one pill a day to preserve her life. As for the corpse of Yan Shijiu, it was dumped directly at the chaotic burial hill.

Nothing unusual happened in the Su Family Village. The Bai Family had no idea that they were used to threaten Gu Ling. Bai Xiaohu and Zhuzi were determined to study well, to pass the examinations and become officials in the capital city, and bring their entire family to the capital city to continue being neighbors with Su Liang.

In the past three days, Qiao Jing thought Gu Ling wasn’t likely to rescue him. Just as he had thought, as long as Gu Ling kept her presence hidden, maintaining the status quo and delaying the enemy, perhaps old Mu and Cen Man from Xingluo Island had already arrived and met Mo Yan, creating a turning point in the situation.

At least, for now, the enemy hadn’t apprehended Gu Ling and remained unaware of it, which was advantageous for them.

So, Qiao Jing continued impersonating Gu Ling seriously. He needed to be very cautious all the time to avoid revealing any flaws to Sheng Yue.

That day they changed their route and took the waterway. By boat, they could reach Nanping City directly and more quickly.

During the journey, Sheng Yue and Qiao Jing didn’t communicate much. He didn’t intend to reveal the true purpose of apprehending Gu Ling ahead of time, and Qiao Jing didn’t ask to avoid making mistakes by speaking too much. Qiao Jing had always known that there was a major secret involving the couple, Gu Ling and Su Liang. Perhaps, the people from Xingluo Island reaching out to them was related to this secret.

Other than losing his freedom, Qiao Jing didn’t think that anything was wrong. He found himself with plenty of free time to contemplate many things, both from the past and for the future.

That night, when they were crossing a narrow river mouth, the distance between the two banks being only ten meters, their boat, which wasn’t that big, could get through.

There was no moon or stars that night, and it was very dark, with only the sound of rippling water in the air.

Qiao Jing and Sheng Yue were respectively leaning against the two ends of the boat cabin pretending to sleep.

Qiao Jing was thinking about Min Rou again, letting his imagination run wild at the thought of what their children would look like if they married each other.

The boat suddenly rocked. Sheng Yue opened his eyes and asked, “What’s happening?”

“Seems something is blocking the way,” came the voice of the old boatman from outside, followed by a muffled grunt and the sound of a heavy object falling into the water.

Sheng Yue’s pupils constricted, he rushed over, grabbed Qiao Jing, and pulled him out of the cabin.

It was very quiet outside, but the boat was stuck in the middle of the river mouth, not moving forward anymore. It was indeed blocked by something sharp under the water since the hull had been pierced and water was seeping in.

Gu Ling is here… Qiao Jing’s heart pounded. It must be her!

The old boatman had been shot with an arrow and fell into the river; his body floated away.

Apart from Sheng Yue and Qiao Jing, there were four other old men on board; they all came out and protected Sheng Yue in the middle.

“Did you lead them here?” Sheng Yue asked Qiao Jing coldly.

Qiao Jing shook his head, “I didn’t do anything.”

“Come out!” Sheng Yue ordered coldly. They weren’t far from the shore, but their boat was broken. They dared not to land immediately, fearing an ambush.

On the right bank was a large rock; a figure landed lightly upon it. Subsequently, Qiao Jing heard “his own” voice, “Release Gu Ling.”

“Situ Jing?” Sheng Yue recognized Qiao Jing.

“Qiao Jing.” Gu Ling corrected.

“How did you find us?” Sheng Yue squinted at her.

“I am clairvoyant.” Gu Ling stated.

Qiao Jing:…

Sheng Yue scoffed, “Ridiculous. If I can’t escape, Gu Ling will accompany me in death. Get out of the way.” As he finished speaking, he pulled out the pistol he had taken from Qiao Jing and aimed at Gu Ling.

The reason why Sheng Yue hadn’t immediately attacked Gu Ling was to understand how someone had found out about their whereabouts. This was essential, but he hadn’t yet got an answer.

“Okay.” As soon as Gu Ling finished his words, he disappeared completely.

Listening to Sheng Yue’s coarse breath, which showed he was obviously enraged, Qiao Jing suddenly found it somewhat amusing… He didn’t know what Gu Ling was planning to do, but it was bound to be interesting. The boat was already damaged, and even if they cleared the obstacles in their path, they could not use it. They would have to get ashore as soon as possible, but there might be some “surprises” waiting for them on the shore.

Water was already pouring into the boat, and it wouldn’t be long before it sank, as it had reached Qiao Jing’s feet.

Sheng Yue looked at two of the four elderly men and said, “You two, go check out the path over there.” He was referring to the left bank.

The two elderly men leapt ashore swiftly. The shore was covered with dense trees. They had weapons in their hands, and they were about to walk into the forest when they heard Sheng Yue say, “Walk along the bank.”

It was a smart approach. After getting ashore, there was no necessary need to hide in the forest. The conditions within the forest were unclear and potentially more dangerous. With a hostage in hand, all they needed was a clear path.

Next, Qiao Jing witnessed a scene of a “hunting” scenario.

An arrow flew out from the forest on the opposite bank at an extreme speed and hit one of the elderly men, who toppled into the water.

The other elderly man quickly hid in the forest, but soon after, an explosion sounded, and the entire river surface started to vibrate.

Qiao Jing understood clearly. Gu Ling either had a lot of mines buried in the forest, or he had calculated every step of theirs. The latter seemed more likely. Gu Ling had been following them all this while, and he probably didn’t have time to prepare much.

Qiao Jing was held hostage by Sheng Yue, who positioned him in front of his own body.

At this point, the boat began to tilt. Sheng Yue knew that sending someone ashore to explore the path meant sending them to their death. Even if the other party was alone, they were stuck in the river, clearly exposed, while the other party was hidden in the darkness.

“How the hell did he find us?” Sheng Yue’s voice was no longer as monotonous as before, but was filled with anger. Obviously, he was a person with a strong desire to control, and he initially thought he had everything under control. However, a major mishap caught him off guard.

“Master, we should move in the water,” one of the elderly men suggested.

Just then, something fell towards the stern of the boat and hit the wooden rail.

Sheng Yue’s face turned pale instantly, “Jump!” As soon as the word fell, he dragged Qiao Jing and jumped into the river.

The moment they left the boat, there was a loud boom. The entire boat exploded, and thick smoke rose accompanied by flames.

An elderly man who was slow to react and was near the stern was left with his upper body intact when he entered the water.

But Qiao Jing had seized the opportunity, the moment they plunged into the water, to wriggle free from Sheng Yue’s grip. As he was pondering which direction to swim in, he suddenly felt a strong tug on his arm. He was pushed forcefully and quickly found himself by the shore and hurried ashore.

“Be careful, he has a gun!” Qiao Jing shouted back, knowing that Gu Ling was in the water.

Sheng Yue, however, did not see Gu Ling and swim as fast as possible towards the right bank.

The water around him suddenly began to ripple disturbingly. Sensing something was not right, Sheng Yue subconsciously evaded, but by the next moment, he saw his right hand severed from his wrist, floating away with the current.

Turning around, Sheng Yue saw the last of his subordinates grappling with a person.

Seizing this opportunity, Sheng Yue ignored his severed hand, reached the shore quickly, and saw the elderly man who rescued him earlier had already floated up, dead.

Sheng Yue shot a chilling look at Qiao Jing on the opposite bank and dashed into the forest.

Immediately afterwards, Gu Ling emerged from the water, pursuing Sheng Yue.

“Hey …,” Qiao Jing, standing at the opposite bank, began to say but the figure had disappeared from his line of vision.

Looking around, Qiao Jing was the only living person left. The river was filled with debris from the destroyed boat as well as dead bodies.

Qiao Jing’s poison hadn’t been cured yet, so he sat down on the spot, waiting for Gu Ling to return. Thinking back on the horrifying experience, he was impressed by Gu Ling’s meticulous plan to take on many by himself but couldn’t help muttering: if Sheng Yue hadn’t reacted so quickly, they would all have been blown up on the boat…

From another perspective, Gu Ling calculated even Sheng Yue’s responses accurately—they were flawless. No wonder Su Liang always called him Great God. Only such tactics could possibly deal with enemies like Sheng Yue. Even if Sheng Yue was lucky enough to escape this night, this time, in his encounter with Gu Ling, he was completely defeated.